2011 NFL Season: 10 Bold Predictions
Everyone knows someone who claims to have said "I knew Arian Foster was going to do awesome last year" or "I knew the Bears would go 11-5 last year even without an offensive line or a receiver anyone had heard of." Well now you can claim the same 10 months from now.
To preface, I suppose any "predicting" done about the NFL this coming season should start with there actually being a season to predict. First off, I cannot imagine there will not be a season based on how much both the owners and players have to lose. Unfortunately, I also thought the same before the MLB's and NHL's most recent labor disputes, costing each league games, money and most importantly, fan support.
So bonus bold prediction: we will have football this season, but without training camps or enough preseason games. The first few weeks will look far less polished and will not be indicative of what the team's week 12 product will look like. Too bad it may be over for some teams by then.
On to the predictions!
The Lions Will Have Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year
1 of 10
The Detroit Lions drafted the superbly talented Nick Fairley in the first round of last weeks draft. This man was unstoppable last season for Auburn. The only knock on him was his drive.
I can't imagine he won't have the drive when he gets to line up next to Ndamukong Suh and wreaks havoc every week. You can't double team both of them each play. They will create huge mismatches upfront for whichever team wants to keep their quarterback upright. Hopefully he looks better in a Lions jersey than in this mess for draft night.
In the second round the Lions drafted Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure. He is a hard nosed back that the Lions will need playing in the tough NFC North.
He will complement Jahvid Best well and has the luxury of a Calvin Johnson led air attack to draw safeties from the line of scrimmage.
Do I think Leshoure is the most talented and best offensive rookie? Absolutely not. Do I think he can put up enough numbers to win the award in a lackluster draft class? Certainly.
Speaking of rookies...
Cam Newton Will Be the Best Pick in the Draft
2 of 10
Alright, I said I'd be bold...but I can't even go along with this.
Choosing Cam Newton just assured the Panthers five more top-10 picks and a huge salary cap hit for the next five-plus years. (Assuming there is no change to the rookie wage scale.)
That being said, is there any question Ryan Mallett has the best shot at becoming a perennial Pro Bowl caliber player? He has the physical tools, regardless of what he took to get them.
Is there a better coach to help him with the mental side than Bill Belichick? AND he gets to sit for a few years learning one of the most quarterback friendly systems in the league from a fairly solid quarterback named Tom Brady.
Maybe Tom will even hook him up with a hot model wife of his own!
These Teams Will Be Taking a Step Back
3 of 10
Every year "experts" select the teams that had good seasons as "taking the next step."
Typically, these teams take a step backwards. Whether it's due to injuries, added pressure, tougher schedule, roster moves or the team just wasn't that good, it happens every season.
This year's candidates for falling back to Earth would be the Kansas City Chiefs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the St. Louis Rams.
The Chiefs had a great surprise season last year with career years from Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe and Matt Cassel. Charles almost led the league in rushing despite having only 230 carries. (100 less than rushing leader Arian Foster.)
However, the Chiefs have a porous defense and will face a first place schedule. They may have a decent season, but you won't see them in the post season again this year.
The Bucs had another surprise season, nearly winning a post season bid in the final week.
They will benefit from a third place schedule and will get to play the Panthers twice, but just don't have the defense to get them over the hump quite yet.
Josh Freeman has developed into a nice young QB, but I think he's still a year or two away from being top player in this league. Expect a finish around .500 for this club.
The Rams seem to be the pick to win the NFC West for the upcoming year. These predictors don't seem to grasp the much harder schedule, or the fact that the Rams played in the worst division, possibly ever.
It may be true that the division didn't get much better, but the Rams only won three games in that bad division last season, and I doubt that will improve.
I look to them to have six wins this year, as they are still a couple Sam Bradford years away from being a serious contender.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
The Lions Will Finish Second in the NFC North
4 of 10
I already covered the impact that the rookies will have on this Detroit team. Now take into account that last year's team won six games, four more than it won the two previous years combined.
In the very first week, the Lions beat the Bears in every sense of the word and had it not been for a rule technicality, would have started the season 1-0.
For the rest of the season the Lions lost six games by four points or less, if they would have won half of those close ones, they could have finished 9-7.
Now factor in the fact that the Lions played nearly the whole season with Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton under center and journeyman Maurice Morris as the feature back for multiple games.
Ndamukong Suh had 10 sacks as a rookie and with another year under his belt and some added help, there is no reason to believe this team can't jump to nine wins this year.
The Bears will not have the luck they had last season and will not approach 11 wins again and the Vikings are in a bad spot right now.
The 2011 version of the NFC north will only produce one playoff team, but 2012 will be the year of the Lion.
Michael Vick Will Not Save the Eagles This Season
5 of 10
Give professional defensive coordinators a full off season to stop this new version of Michael Vick, and it will be done.
Vick had a great season last year, but he will not be able to keep it up this season. He started to wear down last year after numerous injuries caused by taking over games, and to be honest, it was the only way the Eagles could win games.
The Eagles cannot go into this year thinking Vick will bail them out every time they need a huge play or game. He will be planned against appropriately with different schemes forcing him to make tough, quick throws and he will need help from his offensive cast to even survive the whole season, let alone thrive.
He will need even more help from a defense that hasn't been quite the same since Jim Johnson's death. The Eagles may sneak into the playoffs, but it won't be the Supervick we saw last season single-handedly carrying them there.
The Bears Will Not Finish .500 This Year
6 of 10
The Chicago Bears finished 11-5 last season and suffered a heartbreaking loss to their bitter rival Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game last season.
The infamous "Cutler Game" just might define the Jay Cutler era in Bears history if he can't lead the team back to the playoffs. Unfortunately for him, that won't happen this year.
It was amazing the Bears won eight games last year let alone 12. (Including the playoffs.)
They have huge holes on both sides of the line, no threat at wide receiver and only one defensive back to worry about, albeit mildly worry about.
The Bears have strong linebackers, Julius Peppers and a great special teams game.
That will not be enough to win a tougher NFC North and it certainly won't be enough to make the playoffs.
The Bears will not finish .500 this season and Chicagoans will once again call for both Cutler's and coach Lovie Smith's heads.
The Texans Will Finally Make the Playoffs
7 of 10
This is the year the "experts" finally get it right.
The Texans will take all of the talent they have amassed through the last decade of drafts and put it all together into a winning team.
The Texans took a step backwards after having the first winning season in franchise history a year earlier. This year they jump past that step and right into the postseason.
The offense is doing just fine, ranking third in yardage, with such players as Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub and last years rushing leader Arian Foster.
The defense is also ranked third, in number of yards given up. The Texans just could not stop anyone last year.
In last week's draft, the Texans choose defensive players with their first five picks including defensive ends J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed and corner Brandon Harris.
Those three figure to get lots of playing time to go along with Mario Williams, Brian Cushing and DeMeco Ryans.
If they can stop quarterbacks from averaging a QB rating over 100, then they can finish with 10 wins and put pressure on the Colts in the AFC south.
The Jim Harbaugh Led 49ers Will Win a Playoff Game
8 of 10
I just covered my regressing teams, now on to my surprise ones.
The 49ers will win a game in the postseason. They have the talent, they just need a coach to put it all together for them.
I think Jim Harbaugh's approach will reinvigorate a frustrated team, which was belittled by ex-Coach Mike Singletary all last season.
They have the defensive ability to be an top-10 squad like they were a couple years ago, and they have spent multiple high end draft picks shoring up a terrible offensive line.
Quarterback is still a big question mark, but keeping Alex Smith upright will do amazing things to a QB's ability. If Frank Gore can stay healthy, they can be a force come January.
The Raiders Will Make the Playoffs for the First Time Since Losing Super Bowl 37
9 of 10
The Oakland Raiders won every division game last year. They lost every other conference game.
This year they will win more conference games and make the playoffs as a wild card.
They will stick with the run-first offense led by Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, a solid defense and will get just lucky enough to sneak in.
Quarterback is still a huge question mark, but they can control the ball and put pressure on the opponent's offense.
The defense isn't amazing, but Nnamdi Asomugha removes the top receiver from any offensive plan.
They have a solid defensive line, led by Richard Seymour. They also have some solid, very fast, young linebackers who will provide extra pressure from the edges.
To top this off, the Raiders get to play a third place schedule which should get them about 10 wins and a first round playoff exit.
Fearless Championship Prediction
10 of 10
No prediction article is complete without a championship prediction. But before I get there I'll tell you who will be playing extra games this season.
In the AFC
New England Patriots
Baltimore Ravens
Indianapolis Colts
San Diego Chargers
Houston Texans
Oakland Raiders
In the NFC
New York Giants
Green Bay Packers
Atlanta Falcons
San Francisco 49ers
New Orleans Saints
Philadelphia Eagles
Superior defense and a more cohesive offensive unit will bring the Lombardi trophy to Baltimore when the Ravens defeat the defending champion Green Bay Packers in a low scoring affair.
And to start next year's mock draft, the Panther's select Andrew Luck, QB from Stanford with the first pick in the draft, giving them three quarterbacks selected in the first or second round in three years.
Or worst case scenario, there is no season and the Panthers get to choose first again selecting Andrew Luck QB from Stanford...
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")